Irvine woman is Ms. Fix-it

Dec. 1, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Claudia Barajas, 28, a female maintenance worker at the San Paulo apartments in Irvine displays the four medals she won at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition on Nov. 8. Barajas won a 1st place gold medal for replacing a toilet valve in a record-breaking 16.3 seconds, three bronze medals and a second-place overall trophy. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Claudia Barajas, 28, a female maintenance worker at the San Paulo apartments in Irvine won four medals and a trophy at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition on November 8. Barajas won a 1st place medal for replacing a toilet valve in a record-breaking 16.3 seconds. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Claudia Barajas, 28, a maintenance worker at the San Paulo apartments in Irvine changes out shower fixtures in an apartment being prepared for new tenants. Barajas won four medals and a second-place overall trophy at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition in November. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Claudia Barajas, 28, a female maintenance worker at the San Paulo apartments in Irvine displays the four medals she won at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition on Nov. 8. Barajas won a first-place gold medal for replacing a toilet valve in a record-breaking 16.3 seconds, three bronze medals and a second-place overall trophy. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Claudia Barajas displays the first-place medal she won at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition on Nov. 8 for replacing a toilet valve in a record-breaking 16.3 seconds. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Claudia Barajas, 28, a female maintenance worker at the San Paulo apartments in Irvine displays the four medals and trophy she won at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition on Nov. 8. Barajas won a first-place gold medal for replacing a toilet valve in a record-breaking 16.3 seconds. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Claudia Barajas, 28, a maintenance worker at the San Paulo apartments in Irvine changes out shower fixtures in an apartment being prepared for new tenants. Barajas won four medals and a second-place overall trophy at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition on Nov. 8. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Claudia Barajas, 28, a female maintenance worker at the San Paulo apartments in Irvine won four medals and a trophy at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition on Nov. 8. Barajas won a first-place medal for replacing a toilet valve in a record-breaking 16.3 seconds. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Claudia Barajas, 28, a female maintenance worker at the San Paulo apartments in Irvine displays the four medals she won at the CAA South Coast Maintenance All-Star Competition on Nov. 8. Barajas won a 1st place gold medal for replacing a toilet valve in a record-breaking 16.3 seconds, three bronze medals and a second-place overall trophy. LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

First she claimed the throne in toilet flush-valve replacement – completing the task in a ridiculous 16.3 seconds.

Then Claudia Barajas flushed the ambitions of 107 peers to take second place overall at California Apartment Association's fourth annual South Coast maintenance worker competition.

She was one of only two women in the contest of seven timed events.

Barajas is a certified maintenance technician at Irvine's San Paulo Apartment Homes, where she is a much-appreciated employee.

Her success in the traditionally guys' club of repair-and-replacement is part passion, part genetics. Her father and three brothers are maintenance workers by trade, she said, and her mom is quite handy, too – as in replacing her own toilets and laying down genuine tile.

Aside from her gold medal in 'toiletry,' Bajaras earned silver in icemaker replacement, bronze in blinded tool-recognition and bronze in deadbolt replacement.

We interviewed Barajas at San Paulo, where she also lives.

Tell us about this toilet repair game.

One technician did it in 19 seconds. He thought he had won. That was the time to beat. I watched a few guys do it and studied what they were doing right and wrong. After I finished in 16 seconds, 15 guys lined up to try to beat me. Then the guy who did it in 19 seconds turned around and came over. He said, "That's impossible." When he knew it was true, his face just sunk.

What was the task?

There was a clear plastic tank. You had to remove the flush-valve and flapper, put them on a table, replace them with new ones (correctly), and then put your hands on the table.

Why do you think you did so well in the overall competition?

I was very motivated. I really wanted to win to make San Paulo look good. I felt that I needed to do something great to represent.

What's the secret to winning a maintenance race?

Stay calm. Be mellow. Don't drop stuff. I watched some of the guys take their turns and they were dropping tools or parts in the rush. That ate up a lot of time.

How did you get your current job with The Irvine Co.?

I went online and applied. I interviewed first on the phone, and they hired me as a junior tech right over the phone. They quickly made me a technician. (Her manager said she knew she wanted to hire her during that first phone interview).

What was the worst maintenance situation you have ever dealt with?

A woman removed the lid on her toilet to loosen the flapper because the toilet wouldn't flush, but when she put the lid back, she pushed too hard and it broke the whole toilet and water started leaking everywhere. She didn't know what to do. She called her daughter, who asked Irvine Ranch Water District to turn the water off. I was on-call that night so when I showed up, there was three to four inches of water on both floors of the townhome. It was everywhere. I had trouble finding a vendor that would answer the phone. It was after midnight. I finally found one, and I was there in my sandals for three-and-a-half hours, until about 4 a.m. We had to move all the furniture and rip up all the carpet. The ceiling in the family room was starting to break, so we had to poke holes in it so the water could leak through.

What is your long-term career goal?

I want to be director of maintenance for The Irvine Co. within 10 years. It's a great place to work. I want to retire at The Irvine Co.

Tell me about the work you do here, apart from fixing things when they break.

When an apartment turns over, we go in with a long list of things we need to replace or that need to replace if they are damaged or old. That includes sinks, faucets, shower stems, seats, heads, spouts, closet wheels, lights, fixtures.

You seem to love working in maintenance. Why is that?

I like the feeling of taking something old, turning it around and making it brand new. Having the ability to fix things and make people happy is great.

Claudia’s do-it-yourself tips

Garbage disposal: If you have an odor coming from your garbage disposal, just get some ice from your fridge, place it in the disposal and run it. This will eliminate food residue in your disposal and with it, the smell.

Dishwasher: Some people use dish soap for their dishwasher and that creates a lot of foam. Dishwashers are usually water-tight but not airtight, so when there is a lot of foam they start to leak. To get rid of the foam, sprinkle two packets of dry coffee creamer in the dishwasher before running it. Also, pouring vinegar into the dishwasher soap cup and running it will eliminate odors.

Outlet: Refurbish old power outlet cover plates by removing them, placing them on a piece of cardboard and spray-painting them with the enamel. It can be any color you choose. Let them dry and reinstall them and you have brand new covers.

Painting: For those who like to be creative, you can make perfect lines for an accent wall by rubbing white caulk along the edge of the painter’s tape and wiping the excess off with a rag. The caulk keeps the paint from leaking past the edge, especially on textured surfaces. And the tape will pull off cleanly and smoothly.

Shower doors: A good way to avoid soap build up and water marks is using a squidgy to remove the water from the door after every shower. I know that’s a bit more work, but it really pays off with crystal-clear shower doors.

Mirrors: Spray the cleaner on a cloth instead of directly on the glass. This helps prevent damage to the mirror.

Drain: To unclog a vanity sink drain, go underneath the sink and unscrew the nut that hold the pop-up drain stop. Pull up the drain stop and all the hair will come up with it. Doing this once a month will prevent a mainline clog.

Squeaking: Rubbing baby powder into the wood flooring joints will eliminate squeaks. Just wipe up the excess with a towel.

Toilet: Replacing a fill valve is simple. First, turn off the water, flush the toilet and use a big sponge to remove any water left in the tank. Disconnect the hose that comes from the angle stop into the toilet. Detach the little hose, unscrew the nut that holds the fill valve in place and then remove the valve. The new valve will come with two washers. To prevent leaking, read the directions carefully as to where they go. Secure the new valve with the nut it came with; reconnect the main hose and the little hose. Slowly turn on the water. Flush the toilet several times to ensure no leaks.

‘All-Star’ janitor contest

109 maintenance technicians from Orange County and Long Beach competed in seven events at California Apartment Association’s fourth annual South Coast Maintenance All-Stars games Nov. 8 at Tijeras Creek Golf Club. The fastest time for a correctly completed task won that event. Below are the events, followed by the winning time.

Toilet: Remove and replace fill-valve and flapper, which includes unthreading the water supply line from the valve, removing it, installing the new one and reconnecting the water supply line before removing and replacing the flapper. 16.4 seconds. (Barajas’ time)

Window: Assemble a frame, spline and screen material into a new window screen. 56.0 seconds.

Blind tool: Identity tools inside a container by touch and pull them out in a specific order. 21.6 seconds. (Barajas did it in 26 seconds)

Faucet: Remove an old unit and replace it with a new one. 40.0 seconds.

Icemaker: Remove an old unit and replace it with a new one. 11.5 seconds.

Lock: Remove old smart key deadbolt lock unit, install new unit and test it to make sure it is working properly. 60.3 seconds.

Smoke detector: Remove old unit, install new unit and test to make sure it is working properly. 8.0 seconds.

TOP WINNERS: These three contestants took home the trophies for overall performance:

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